Though its name may suggest otherwise, International Bancshares Corp. in Laredo, Tex., is chiefly focused these days on making a bigger name for itself in its home state.

Kearny Financial Corp. in Fairfield, N.J., reported a sharp drop in first-quarter earnings due to an increase in its deposit costs.

Like many small banks, the $22 million-asset Johnsonville State Bank in South Carolina has found it increasingly difficult of late to compete for deposits while grappling with higher regulatory costs and trying to maintain credit quality.

Losses continue to mount at Coast Financial Holdings Inc. as the Bradenton, Fla., company reported a huge spike in nonperforming loans related to the bankruptcy of a home builder.

The United Nations has been promoting "green" lending for 15 years and counts some of the world's biggest banking companies as its partners.

Shares of Greater Bay Bancorp jumped 11.6% Thursday after the company postponed its first-quarter earnings report.

Despite reporting lackluster earnings this week, Nara Bancorp received an upgrade Wednesday on speculation that the Los Angeles company will emerge soon from a memorandum of understanding ready to spend capital.

MIDWEST

Prosperity Bancshares Inc. in Houston said it has a deal to buy Bank of Navasota, with $73 million of assets, for $17.4 million in cash and stock.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican, is expected to sign into law a bill that could bring an end to lawsuits over credit union expansion.

Atlantic Coast Federal Corp. in Waycross, Ga., said Tuesday that its first-quarter net income fell 30%, to $774,000, from the year earlier.

With its deal for Community Banks Inc., Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. in Lititz, Pa., would absorb a longtime competitor and gain significant scale in markets where growth has been hard to come by.

BNC Bancorp in Thomasville, N.C., reported record earnings Tuesday for the first quarter due mainly to an increase in earning assets from a recent acquisition.

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Old National Bancorp of Evansville, Ind., said its first-quarter earnings fell 48% from the first quarter of 2006, to $10.8 million.

Superior Bancorp of Birmingham, Ala., is extending its own form of Southern hospitality to a large, foreign-owned competitor that recently moved into its home state.

Citizens Republic Bancorp of Flint, Mich., announced Monday that Dana M. Cluckey, its president and chief operating officer - and heir apparent to the chief executive - would resign May 31.

Sterling Financial Corp. in Lancaster, Pa., is known for producing consistent earnings, and its equipment-financing subsidiary has been a big part of its success, contributing roughly 40% to Sterling's bottom line over the past three years.

Flagstar Bancorp Inc. in Troy, Mich., has reported first-quarter earnings of $7.8 million, down 59% from the year earlier. Diluted earnings per share were down 59%, to 12 cents  7 cents below the average of analysts' expectations in a Thomson Financial survey.